Alright folks, there’s an awful lot going on around Red Sox Nation, so it’s time to catch up with a little bit of news, notes and observations.
Jon Lester‘s Injury
After Lester was lifted from last night’s game with an apparent injury, Twitter was abuzz with panic. Though it was somewhat comforting to experience a full-on “freak out” session with my fellow Red Sox Nation compatriots, his untimely exit was a bit unnerving. As pitches turned to outs and outs turned into innings, the panic we experienced quickly blossomed into a full blown anxiety attack. Luckily, around the seventh or eighth inning, news came back that Lester had “only” suffered from a strained left latissimus muscle. Red Sox Nation let out a collective sigh of relief.
While Lester “isn’t worried about the injury long term” and doesn’t envision being forced to the DL, Gordon Edes of ESPN Boston explains that these types of injuries can shelve pitchers for significant periods of time.
“At the other end of the spectrum? Well, maybe Sox reliever Matt Albers, who strained his lat muscle April 5, went on the DL and was back in the minimum 15 days. But check out this sampling of pitchers with the same injury, the only difference a variation in degree (and the number of games they missed):
2011 — Bruce Chen, Kansas City (44) 2010 — Brad Penny, St. Louis (120) 2009 — Brett Myers, Philadelphia (18; made just two cameo appearances in postseason) 2009 — Chad Durbin, Philadelphia (17) 2007 — Bartolo Colon, Los Angeles Angels (16) 2005 — Ben Sheets, Milwaukee (32) 2003 — Pedro Martinez, Boston (22) Francona said Lester will undergo extensive evaluation Wednesday, which almost certainly will include an MRI, although Francona said he could offer no details. This is not an injury to be trifled with, not when the lat muscle plays such an important role in what a pitcher does.”
Of course, the manner in which each pitcher recovers from an injury relates primarily to both his genetics and the severity of the injury. While it’s possible Lester is genetically predisposed to recovering quickly from injury, we won’t know it’s severity until after the results of Lester’s MRI have been released. Although I’m hopeful the results are fairly benign, I can’t envision a scenario where Lester doesn’t spend at least two to four weeks on the DL. He’s too important to the team to risk further injury.
So, if Lester hits the DL, what happens next? With Daisuke Matsuzaka down for the count after having Tommy John surgery; Clay Buchholz going to see a specialist for a second opinion on his balky lower back; and John Lackey doing his best John Wasdin impression, the rotation was already pretty thin. Add Lester to the mix, and things start to look pretty scary. Although Tim Wakefield and Andrew Miller have pitched well in recent weeks, I can’t imagine the front office fantasized about both of them being entrenched in the rotation in early July. Now, the erratic Alfredo Aceves appears to be the most likely to take Lester’s place should it get to that point. Yikes! Think about that for a second. We’re a Lester DL trip away from seeing a rotation that looks like this: Josh Beckett, Lackey, Wakefield, Miller, and Aceves. Ugh! Last Night’s Game Ending Excitement
Anyone who’s seen the replay of last night’s game ending play between Jason Varitek and Edwin Encarnacion could tell you that Tek missed that tag by a country mile. While I’m not going to complain about the Red Sox scavenging a win (I’ll gladly take it), I will say that it’s time for baseball to re-open the debate on instant replay. The fact that there’s even a debate about such an issue is comical at best.
In the wake of Armando Galaragga’s perfect game fiasco, Major League Baseball had a responsibility to expand instant replay. While I understand that human error is a part of baseball’s long, rich tradition, it’s looming presence in the game is completely unncessary. In a time where technology exists to right the incorrect calls made by flawed, human umpiring, there’s neither a reason, nor an excuse for calls as egregiously bad as the one made last night. I’m not saying we either use replay technology on ball/strike calls, or even abolish umpiring in it’s current form. Instead, it’s time we embrace the benefits of technology and expand instant replay to include close calls made on the bases and at home plate. No team should ever lose in the manner the Blue Jays did last night–even if it was at the hands of the Red Sox.
Mike Cameron Traded to the Marlins
In case you missed it yesterday, recently DFA’d outfielder Mike Cameron has been traded to the Florida Marlins in exchange for cash considerations, which will likely cover much (if not all) of his remaining $3.5M in salary. With Logan Morrison and Mike Stanton firmly entrenched in LF and RF for the Marlins, Cameron won’t likely get a lot of playing time in the corners. Instead, he might be able to steal some playing time away from CF Chris Coghlan who has struggled both at the plate and in the field this season.
Guest Appearance at Splashing Pumpkins
Recently, I was given an opportunity to write a guest article for the Giants blog, Splashing Pumpkins. My piece, written on the Giants starting pitching depth, was posted last night. Feel free to click the link and check it out!